♪ >> hello. welcome to "european journal." thanks for joining us. we are coming to you as usual from our dw studio in brussels, and this is what is coming up in the program today. the archaic sport of pigsticking making headlines in spain. property rises in germany are leaving some without a home. and mistaken identities in poland's presidential plane crash. there's something rather medieval in the idea of a sport where men on horseback chase while boris with spears. it is an archaic sport, once hugely popular in spain.

then it was banned, but now it is making a comeback. this traditional hunting method is being legalized by a number of regions. even the spanish environment ministry is backing the move, hoping to see a rise in takings in national parks as a result of people buying hunting permits, but animal rights activists are far from happy, calling the horseback hunting savage. >> this is a story from spain about wild boars and a controversial method of hunting them. but it is also a story about a country in crisis and how one is sacrificed for the good of the other. this is a member of the old gentry. hunting has been in his family's blood for generations.

he is helping revive the tradition of hunting wild boar on horseback with spears. the sport, known as pigsticking, was long banned, but he has legalize it again. as chairman of the pigsticking international club, he wants to use the hunt as a way to draw tourists to the region. hunters pay at least 5000 euros per team to take part, money the locals could really use, so he prays to god to save spain and give people jobs. >> in our region, this really could be a way out of the crisis. we hope to get customers from abroad interested in the hunt.

>> the onlookers ride in a jeep while the hunters on horseback look a bit like don quixote. seven test -- cervantes' literary hero also came from this region and felt compelled to tint -- tilt to windmills'. on a hill, a tent is set up where invited guests can quench their thirst. for hard liquor, too. animal rights activists have been up in arms since pigsticking was legalized again. before the hon gets under way, we asked the organizer weather it constitutes cruelty to animals. >> the animal suffers far less during our hunt than with other hunting methods. >> than the hunt begins.

the wild boar is released from a cage, and a group of writers pursue it over open country -- a group of riders pursue it over open country. the chase is on. good horsemanship is vital to take part in the hon. this made lansing wild boars a popular pastime with european ability for centuries. the pri has no chance in this inclosed hunting compound. the hunter stabs him several times with a lance. it is not immediately apparent that this method means the animal suffers less. but the hunters are exuberant. >> i feel like michael schumacher after seven grand

prix wins. >> enrique is still high on adrenaline. the guests also seem impressed by the bloody spectacles. >> it is the first time i have seen this. it is very interesting, very unique. >> it is like bullfighting. it is about being brave. that is why hunting like this has lots of potential. >> many say hunting for in this way would mean spanish national parks could earn more money. others say that is a logic board of crisis and that hunting with spears is clearly inhumane. miguel hernandez and his group have gathered 30,000 signatures, but so far, it has been in vain. now he fears animal protection laws will become more lax than the real danger here is that

some groups will see the crisis as an opportunity for turning back time. in terms of environmental protection and hunting as well. >> in crisis-wracked spain, the desperation to create jobs is producing questionable business models like providing a license to kill wild boars with lances. economic considerations aside, animal rights activists insist the practice does not present a pretty picture. >> i'm sure you will have your own views on that one. as a euro crisis crimes on, people all over europe are looking for safer ways to invest their money. in many countries, they believe the answer lies in property. property prices on many big cities are still booming, and

that means there is a shortage of affordable housing for students or low-income families. people being priced out of a home has become a major problem in hamburg in germany with many people forced to live with relatives or to commute long distances to work or study in the city center. the challenge now is for the authorities to provide new, cheaper housing, but, of course, finding they could building plots in a city is not always easy to do. dan hamburg's knew of market city district has become a tourist attraction. hamburg is a rich city, and it is becoming less and less affordable for average earners. many here live a shadowy existence, on the go all day with no place of their own, spending nights on the sofa us of friends. lena is studying political science at the university of hamburg. she is not registered, so we

cannot fill her at home. >> i live with a friend in a half from, which they are not allowed to sublet. that means i cannot have my name on e-mail or letter box. i can stay here for now, but no one official can no -- know. >> linda has a budget of 350 euros for living expenses, but even the cost of a room is higher than that -- lena has a budget of 350 euros. >> they invited everyone who was interested at the same time. there were 10 or 20 people looking at these flats, and we talked. so it is very difficult to get any kind of impression of the flat itself or get to know the people already living there. >> lena is not a rare case in hamburg. at the beginning of the semester, students services had to provide emergency beds in the sports hall, but students are

still reporting long waiting times for housing, and private landlords are taking advantage of the free housing market. >> the landlords are looking for people with a permanent job or high income. most students do not fill these criteria. they can usually only get a flat with good contacts or rich parents. >> the situation in hamburg is the same as in other large cities -- investors discover a derelict district not far from the city and renovate it. then they raise the prices. >> the financial crisis has made it worse. people invest in property. real-estate prices have never gone down here, so it has always been a good investment. >> the center gave in to appeals for cheaper housing and entered into an alliance for living. 6000 flats are to be built. 1/3 is low-income housing.

with the population growing by 12,000 people a year, will that be enough? >> it should be enough because we will not stop building. it is not a four-year manifesto. it is for the whole time. >> all this comes too late for this woman who spends her entire income of 400 euros on rent, but she is still happy to have a room after so much searching. the time of uncertainty is over. >> i packed a bag, left my things at friends and acquaintances, and had to look for a sofa or bed to sleep on every night. i did not have a permanent place to sleep. i had to move from sofa to sofa >> many students and trainees have to commute. they stay with their parents in the surrounding area.

this family lives by the north sea, a good two hours drive away from her work. >> that is fine for the weekend, but if you work all day, sometimes with overtime, it just does not work. >> this building can provide young people with a roof over their heads, but half of the flats art and the. the building association wants to tear it down. they want to join a tenant initiative against the demolition plans. >> i think it is a scandal because it goes against the social housing agreement at a time when it is very much needed. they could set an example and do something good by letting people in need live here. >> the building association did

not react. the students were not concerned. better is a standard room than no room at all. >> it is a big city, and you would think there was a small room somewhere, but it is really difficult. >> people with lower incomes, including students, are left with nothing. it is a trend we have been seeing for many years, but now, it has reached unbearable dimensions. >> you do not feel welcome, to be honest. you just feel forsaken. >> rich and poor have been able to live harmoniously in many german cities, but if the trend continues, the situation could look more like paris and london with privileged district and the neglected problem areas at odds with each other. >> at 2.5 years ago, poland was plunged international morning after a plane crash, which killed the polish president and many other leading military and political figures. the plane was on its way to a ceremony in russia to mark the

70th anniversary of the soviet killing thousands of polish prisoners of war. when it crashed in thick fog with 96 people on board, there were all sorts of conspiracy theories swirling around. it has emerged that there were some serious mistakes made in the way the russians identified the bodies. forensic tests have shown that several people were buried in the long rates, and now more bodies are being exhumed to check their identities. >> the college president was killed with 95 others in a plane crash in russia in 2010, but in a macabre scandal, poland is still burying the dead after authorities say six bodies were misidentified and buried in the wrong graves. the first hint something was amiss was the discovery of irregularities in forensic documents sent from russia. poland's military prosecutors said they had reason to believe that the body of the country's

last president in exile was not the one buried in the temple of divine providence in warsaw. he served his time while the country was still ruled by a communist dictator. he turned over the insignia of presidential power to union and civil rights leader who came to office after free elections in 1990. the commission's confirm the prosecutors fears. the body was found in the wrong grade. the identity of the body in his grave has yet to be revealed, but investigators say they know who it is. in the meantime, a second burial was held in warsaw. >> the family was not present when the body was identified. mistakes are always possible. i can only express my deepest sympathy with the family. now they have to cope with the exhumation and second burial. >> he does not have a clue.

he lies morning, noon, and night. we are fed up with the allies. >> for the first time in years, the civic platform is the longer the strongest party. >> a mass grave would have been better. many of the dead were beyond recognition. a symbolic of what have been better. this is a very sensitive dispute for poland. it cannot be resolved discreetly. the politicians are using it for their purposes while the families suffer. >> some say one case may have been more painful than the others because the person in the wrong grade was a sprightly old lady that everyone in poland new. in the 1980's, she was a crane operator at the lenin shipyard. she helped found the solidarity trade union and led the strikes which took poland to freedom. many attended her funeral, but

after prosecutors expressed their doubts, her grave was reopened. the exhumation was scheduled for 3:00 a.m. to insure quiet dignity, but it did not work out that way. the next day, another body was resumed. authorities confirmed the bodies had been interchanged. >> i just want to return my mother's dignity. then i will rest. this thing has done our family in. we have closure now after the second burial, but the story of the accident is far from over. >> i do not understand it. in my grandmother's case, we had a body, not just remains. my father identified her.

all those responsible had to do was put the right name tag on the right coffin. even if it was a difficult situation, there's no way there should have been a mix up. what happened is a clear sign of incompetence, sloppiness, and ill will of the people who handled it. >> thanks to a russian source, radio reporter was able to uncover one of the cases. he says that mistakes were unavoidable in the case of such a horrific accidents. >> there were 96 victims and just three cases of mistaken identity. that is not many. you have to realize the confusion at the time of the crash. of course there were errors. that is just human. >> yet, the next day, we received images of yet another exclamation -- exhumation. this time, it was supposed to be

decreased from an influential diocese in the capital. authorities confirmed the remains were confused at the scene of the crash with those of the dean at warsaw's catholic university. >> the mix up with the labels on the coffins in these cases apparently happened in russia. >> since then, all the bodies have been placed in their proper graves. the situation has been difficult for the families. two and a half years after the crash, they had to bear their relatives to their graves for a second time. they say it is as if their grief never ends. even the archbishop of warsaw has held masses to comfort the families. >> we are praying for those who

must indoor this grief for a second time. everyone who knew the victims is here, and we must all work together to help. >> 15 other families have also requested exhumations. now that the ground is frozen, these will not likely take place until 2013. many expect to find more victims buried in the wrong graves. >> nothing symbolizes the soviet era better than the lada car. the box-like vehicles first rode up the production line in the 1970's, and although the work the but of many jokes, this was a car which could cope with even the toughest of siberian winter. the heat -- these days, they're still produced in a revamped version, but sales of the new- look car have fallen dramatically. the old-style is still very much in demand. there are vintage car fans

desperate to get their hands on this now iconic vehicle all over europe. >> seeing the sights of londonp. the tour the city in the soviet- era car. the men were surprised by the reactions in britain. to >> it is incredible getting to drive up to all the famous sites with a lada. the people here are very interested in the car, which some are familiar with, for whatever reason. and the two days before, they were home preparing for their big trip to england. they were turning up their pride and joy and east german police car. the political history of the car is no longer important to them. today, the soviet-era lada is a

rarity and, despite a few defects, has been going strong for 20 years. >> the russian technology is pretty indestructible. the car has never broken down. it is in tip-top shape. we would not be doing it if we had doubts about it. >> they run a car dealership that specializes in vehicles from a former east bloc. they sell about four each month. buyers like the fact that these cars hold their value. >> in the last two or three years, they have doubled in value, and restoring is costly. prices are slowly rising because there are fewer of these cars around. they are dying out. >> stefan has just bought one. the 25-year-old wanted a car that was unique, inexpensive, and would hold its value.

>> in my circle of friends, i am the only one who has a vehicle like this, but they all love it. each of them has a hobby or some little quirk. they drive a motorcycle or something, but i drive a lada. >> he bought his car from a man who also provides technical support. he is fascinated by the low-tech lada. the car dealers embark on their grand voyage. they will attend a meeting held by fans of soviet-era cars. after 1,400 kilometers on the highway, they make a pit stop. the visit mark smith, the chairman of the british lada owners club. often, they recount their experiences with soviet symbols and the russian language.

>> we must learn english. >> we went to russian lessons, but i did not really get on with it. >> though he keeps turning the crank, his attempt to get his russian-made car started is not very successful, either. the two germans give him a hand. weather they drive on the right or left side of the road, lada drivers are always willing to help out a comrade. during the cold war era, people had other motives for driving one. >> the reason that people bought russian cars was because they were cheap. you found a lot of people were actually elderly, and they just retired. they got their pensions. they had -- never been able to afford a brand-new car before. they went out and bought a lada

because they were so cheap. >> they arrive for a meeting with fans of cars, military history, and uniforms. hammers and sickles of town. the soviets symbols popularized by stalling, lenin, and bresnik has some dyed-hard fans, but those gathered here also discussed the current political situation in russia. >> i do not think they could ever run democracy there in the way we would understand it. i think that getting mr. putin back in for another term as president is probably the best thing they could have done. >> today, russians might dismiss the lada, but for prisons, the east german police car steals the show. people take pictures during the cavalcade. domthe lada -- the lada was once considered the mercedes of the east. >> a to is the best are available on the east bloc and

cost quite a few east marks, but everyone living in east dreamed of having one like it. that is why the affinity for it is so great now. >> today, the lada is simply cool. during the cold war, who would have dreamed that two germans would be posing with one in front of big ben? >> the lada is innovating london. that is it for "european journal" for another week. hope you enjoyed the program. remember, you can sign up for our facebook page or send us an e-mail with any thoughts on any of our programs. for now, for me and all the team here in brussels, goodbye. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--